Minnesota, 2002

Tornado and Flash Flood in Minnesota, September 18, 2002

September 18, 2002 · NWS FGF · 11 events in 5 counties and zones

9 hail, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$1,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 18, 2:20 PM CST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 18, 2:20 PM CST, 2 hours 40 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
320 PM CDT WED SEP 18 2002

FCST CHALLENGE IS SVR CHANCES THIS EVENING AND TEMPS. GRIDDS AND
WRKFGF ALREADY OUT.

SFC LOW NEARLY STATIONARY TODAY JUST SOUTHEAST OF BISMARCK AWAITING
UPSTREAM ENERGY TO KICK IT NORTHEAST TONIGHT.  ENOUGH BREAKS IN THE
CLOUDS TO ALLOW TEMPS TO RISE TO NR 80 IN SE ND AND THIS COMBINED
WITH LOW 60 DEW PTS SUFFICIENT FOR ISOLD SVR CELLS MID AFTN.  EXPECT
SFC LOW TO TRACK NORTHEAST TONIGHT...18Z MESO ETA TAKES IT ALONG
JAMESTOWN TO MAYVILLE TO NEAR BAUDETTE LINE BY 12Z.  ACTIVITY SOUTH
OF LOW WILL BE SCATTERED TONIGHT WITH ISOLD SVR CELLS (MAINLY
HAILERS) THIS EVENING.  COORD WITH SPC.  NORTH OF SFC LOW MORE
WIDESPREAD SHRA/TSRA WILL FALL FROM DVL ZONE INTO SRN MANITOBA.

MODELS DIFFER ON HOW FAST CLEARING WILL OCCUR THURSDAY.  WILL GO
LIKELY VALLEY EAST THU MORNING THEN BRING CLEARING IN FROM WEST
DURING THE DAY ON THURSDAY.  TEMPS WILL TRY TO WARM BACK TO NR 70 IN
ERN ND.

ON FRIDAY...NEXT FRONT WILL COME DOWN PASSING THRU CWFA IN THE
AFTN.  THINK AVN TOO AGRESSIVE WITH DROPPING 85H TEMPS TO NR ZERO BY
60HRS AND PREFER TAMER ETA.  QUICK BOOST IN TEMPS ON FRIDAY AHEAD OF
FRONT ON SOUTHWEST WINDS WITH LOW-MID 70S THEN STEADY OR FALLING
NORTH LATE.  MOISTURE LOOKS SCANT SO WILL REALLY LIMIT PCPN TO ONLY
THE FAR NORTHERN ZONES FRI AFTERNOON.  COOLER WX WILL THEN MOVE IN
FRI NIGHT/SATURDAY.  WILL GO MORE CLOUDS ALONG WITH LOW POP OF
SHOWERS IN THE ROX/BDE/BJI ZONE SATURDAY CLOSER TO COLDER 50H TEMPS
WHERE STRATOCU SHOULD FORM BY LATE MORNING.

.EXTENDED...THE NORTH AMERICAN UPPER TROUGH BECOMES WELL ESTABLISHED
BY THE WEEKEND AND PERSISTS WELL INTO NEXT WEEK. A DRY NORTHERLY
FLOW AT LOW LEVELS WILL BRING A SUSTAINED ROUND OF BELOW NORMAL
TEMPERATURES THROUGH WEDNESDAY. EVEN WITH REINFORCING COLD FRONTAL
PASSAGES...AT THIS TIME IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE THERE WILL BE ENOUGH
MOISTURE TO GENERATE ANY PRECIPITATION IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD.
THUS...NO PRECIPITATION WAS MENTIONED FOR THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT
WEEK.

.FGF...NONE.

RIDDLE/BRAMER

In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 18, 1:51 PM CST, 3 hours 9 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
251 PM CDT WED SEP 18 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0245 PM    1 NW EMBDEN               ND   .75 INCH HAIL
09/18/02   CASS
Local storm report, Sep 18, 2:09 PM CST, 2 hours 51 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
309 PM CDT WED SEP 18 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0305 PM    3 E BUFFALO               ND   .75 INCH HAIL
09/18/02   CASS
Local storm report, Sep 18, 2:52 PM CST, 2 hours 8 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
352 PM CDT WED SEP 18 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0320 PM    PAGE                      ND   .75 INCH HAIL
09/18/02   CASS                           LASTED FOR 17 MINUTES

0351 PM    8 SE SHELDON              ND   1.75 INCH HAIL
09/18/02   RANSOM

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 108 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 hail, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Wilkin

When
September 18, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Wilkin County, 3 mi N of Wolverton
Measured
1.5 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.633, -96.783

Hail, Clay

When
September 18, 5:10 PM CST
Where
Clay County, Comstock
Measured
2.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.667, -96.750

The large hail caused substantial damage in Comstock. Roofs, windows, and cars were damaged.

Hail, Wilkin

When
September 18, 5:10 PM CST
Where
Wilkin County, 4 mi N of Wolverton
Measured
2.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.633, -96.783

The large hail damaged the windows and siding on buildings.

Hail, Clay

When
September 18, 5:17 PM CST
Where
Clay County, 1 mi E of Comstock
Measured
2.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.667, -96.733

Hail, Clay

When
September 18, 5:22 PM CST
Where
Clay County, Sabin
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.783, -96.650

Hail, Clay

When
September 18, 5:40 PM CST to 6:05 PM CST
Where
Clay County, 2 mi W of Baker
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.717, -96.583

The hail broke windows and damaged the siding, trim, and gutters on a house.

Tornado, Clay

When
September 18, 5:57 PM CST to 6:03 PM CST
Where
Clay County, 3 mi E of Downer
Rating
F1
Path length
1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.750, -96.417

A 14x14 foot one thousand pound shed door was torn off a barn and thrown 150 feet on top of a 24 foot high grain bin. Calf pens were also flipped over.

Hail, Clay

When
September 18, 6:08 PM CST
Where
Clay County, 1 mi N of Downer
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.767, -96.483

Hail, Becker

When
September 18, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Becker County, 9 mi NW of Lake Park
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.967, -96.233

Flash Flood, Kittson

When
September 18, 7:00 PM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
Kittson County, Orleans
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.777, -96.783 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Water was over county road 6.

Hail, Mahnomen

When
September 18, 8:30 PM CST to 8:45 PM CST
Where
Mahnomen County, 16 mi E of Waubun
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
47.183, -95.617

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Minnesota, 2002Warnings in Minnesota, September 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5318047, 5318048, 5318049, 5318050, 5318051, 5318129, 5318134, 5318130, 5318131, 5318132, 5318133.